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AndroidOperating system · Google

CVE-2015-3865

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2015-10-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.1 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Runtime subsystem in Android before 5.1.1 LMY48T allows attackers to gain privileges via a crafted application, as demonstrated by obtaining Signature or SignatureOrSystem access, aka internal bug 23050463.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in the Android Runtime (ART) subsystem before version 5.1.1 LMY48T allows malicious applications to escalate privileges to Signature or SignatureOrSystem level, bypassing normal Android permission model controls.

MitigationUpdate affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to patch the Runtime subsystem vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AndroidOperating system
Affected:<= 5.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check Android OS version
    Go to Settings > About Phone > Android version (or Settings > System > About Phone > Android version on newer Android versions)
    Affected if The reported Android version is 5.1 or earlier (any version number ≤ 5.1)
  2. Verify build number
    Check Settings > About Phone > Build number to confirm the exact build variant
    Affected if Build number is earlier than LMY48T (the patch version for 5.1.1)
  3. Confirm ART runtime in use
    Check if the device uses ART runtime (on affected versions, go to Settings > Developer Options > Runtime, or Settings > Apps > Running tab shows ART)
    Affected if Device is using ART runtime on Android 5.1 or earlier versions

A device is affected if it runs Android version 5.1 or earlier (or any build before LMY48T) and uses the ART runtime, as the vulnerability allows signature-level permission bypass.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.1
Interim mitigation

Update affected Android devices to version 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to patch the Runtime subsystem vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Android 5.1.1 LMY48T or later

  1. Update the Android device to Android 5.1.1 LMY48T or later to patch the Runtime subsystem vulnerability

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Android Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-3865 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data